I've never noticed that they're more expensive but I always try to buy gel caps when I do need pills as I find them easier to swallow. I just can't swallow regular pills.

I was told the liquid is supposed to be absorbed more quickly.

Tablets can have binders in them that some folks have reactions to.

I tried the Advil gel caps, but they are enormous-- switched back to generic ibuprofen.

I agree with Zalco-- some of the gel caps are enormous! I don't have much of an issue swallowing pills but I avoid the gel caps when I can. I get the coated tablets.. smaller and easy on my stomach.

Gel caps are softer, and I find them easier on my throat.

And yes, I believe the liquid may be absorbed a bit more quickly than solids.

Probably mainly comes down to preference. By habit I chew any pain medication so between that snd their size, I avoid gel caps.

I find gel caps to be huge but will use them in things like Niquil right before bed time. Funny but I haven't gotten sick in a long time or had to use them. My preferred type of pill are the caplets. They don't start dissolving in your mouth like a regular pill and seem to be easier for me to swallow.

Gelcaps are designed to work faster. I don't think that's worth the cost and I hate how much space they take up in my travel pill box. If I need a medication to work faster, I crush it first. Obviously that tastes bad, but it works. Fun fact: ibuprofen has almost no flavor, it's not bitter.

Take your pill with a small piece of bread or a little yogurt or some such thing unless food is proscribed. It goes down easier. Better than water.

I find even the large gel caps are easier to swallow than any other kind, other than small pills. I buy Costco brand ibuprophen gel caps; they are much less $ than advil and appear to be the same manufacturer.

Some formulations of Tylenol and aspirin tablets are enteric coated and chewing these is contraindicated, or so I understand. My mild preference is for caplet/ capsule shaped pills, as they are easier for me to swallow. I like gelcaps fine, but not enough to pay significantly more for them. I do think they dissolve/ work a bit faster, but not enough for me to care about.

chinacatpeekin oh yeah, I don't crush just any kind of medication. I've only tried it for ibuprofen or benadryl, and it's rare-- only if absolutely necessary. If something has a special coating, I'm not going to mess with that.

I am the world's worst pill swallower. Even though gel caps tend to be a bit on the larger side, they go down so much easier than the big old white things.

Last year I was prescribed an antibiotic for a minor dog bite. I didn't bother to look at the size of the pill before I got home. It was massive! I have one of those little pill guillotines and I had to cut that sucker into 8 pieces to get it down. And even then I had to have a very serious talk with myself about not being a baby each time I took a dose.

Some of y'all sound like you're trying to give pills to a cat ;-)

I'm lucky that I don't have a problem taking pills. I take my 4 daily pills one of which is a big ole 2000 mg fish oil gel cap at the same time. I also have some prescription 800 mg. Ibuprofen for my RA that are pretty huge that go down easily. I hope it continues this way as I age.

What I remember, years ago, people spiking gel caps with hypodermic needles. Then they pulled gel caps off the shelf. The 1982 Tylenol Murders: Link

Same medicine just different styles. Gels are easier to swallow than caplets or pills, to some people. All deliver the same medicine. Just a choice of what you like.

I used to take fish oil??? or something in a gel cap. For some reason my stomach did not like them. Normally took on an empty stomach but even when I ate food before taking them it felt like my stomach was clinching. I have tried several times since then when gel caps were the only thing available with the same pain followed by a slight light headedness.

If a prescription medication talk to your doctor or pharmacist before cutting up any pill that you may be taking. Some are absorbed in the stomach while others in the small intestine. If the coating is broken the amount of medicine needed with the type that is absorbed in the small intestine may be reduced or non-existent.

Just want to point out that some people do have difficulty swallowing things - especially older people. It can be a neurological or physical issue.

Advil does make a mini gel cap. They tend to dissolve a little faster in your system to work faster.

I don't have problems swallowing pills, I was just wondering if the gel caps are worth the extra money.

You pay a lot for a faster dissolve of mere seconds -- if there is relief. I get very little pain relief from plain Tylenol. Tylenol-4 (prescription narcotic) helps my pain from spinal stenosis -- not an addict yet, after four years. Be aware that ibuprofen can raise your BP. (How are you feeling?)

in short: ease of swallowing. some of those caps, however, are huge ... horse pills.

When MIL was in the nursing home, they gave her pills in applesauce which seemed to go down pretty easy.

The one pill I cannot swallow is the sucralfate. It dissolves so easily that my saliva would start making it stick in my mouth even. So now I dissolve it in water and swallow as a liquid to get it down.

A nurse suggested taking big pills with a thick liquid. When she worked in pediatrics she'd give kids pills and a glass of chocolate milk to drink through a straw.

I've also managed to get some pills down by turning my head to the side as I swallow. I like the relatively new Centrum Mini Vitamins. You take two instead of one big pill. (Always with food to avoid stomach ache.)